


We Are the New Americana

by Emphasised Soul (Loki_Likey_Thor_Odinson)



Category: Adam (2009), Hannibal (TV)
Genre: Autistic Will
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2015-08-21
Updated: 2015-08-22
Packaged: 2018-04-16 12:55:23
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 2
Words: 2,480
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/4626090
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Loki_Likey_Thor_Odinson/pseuds/Emphasised%20Soul
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>
  <em>The first of The Two Brothers 'Graham'</em>
</p><p> </p><p>Adam Raki is just 22. Will Graham is just 27.</p><p>Adam is losing his Father and Will becomes the surrogate for his younger brother. </p><p>It's not simple, not easy, nothing of the sort.</p><p>Yet, life is complicated, and fate plays its hand.</p><p>Can Will and Adam keep their brotherly bond as their life unspirals around them? Love is lost, love may be found, but can blood remain thicker than water?</p><p> </p><p>  <em>For Erik, you lil nerd I love you</em></p>
            </blockquote>





	1. Chapter 1

The arrival of his younger brother had been unexpected.  
An annoyance in his daily routine, and a confusion for his dogs.  
  
Will watched Adam, curled up in the corner with one of the new puppies, asleep, and a smile crossed the empath’s face. Adam’s chest fall was light, even, but strong. His lips were parted ever so slightly, and his eyelashes were splayed across his cheeks. Dark brown curls, almost identical to Will’s own, slightly lighter and longer, a lighter brown, almost begged for a cut. Eyelids hid stunning blue eyes, even deeper and lighter than Will’s – they’d distracted the fisherman when he first met his younger brother.  
  
A smile crossed Will’s lips when he remembered how he had first met Adam, guilt tinging the corners of his lips as he glanced at his little brother’s abdomen – where the still-healing bullet wound was.  
  
_Will had ignored the phone calls from his ‘mother’, hadn’t yet received his mail – he only got it once every two months; the ‘perks’ of living in the middle of nowhere. So when his dogs began growling at what was no doubt someone on his property, Will was reminded of Hannibal, of the growing threat against his life, and had taken his pistol as he opened the door._  
  
_“Hello..?”_  
  
_Winston had shot off to the forest line, barking at a figure standing there and Will had panicked._  
  
_His hands had raised and the gun recoiled in his hands as it fired, almost of its own accord._  
  
_Silence had filled the woods and porch and Will had carefully walked over before recognising the man from pictures he had been sent before – his little brother._  
  
_Will had panicked and immediately lifted the scared boy in his arms, bringing him inside. The sound of his brother in pain as Will dug the bullet out broke the empath’s heart, and he had to force any sign of tears down. He stayed calm as he used a fishing hook – recently cleaned – and line to sew the wound up. It hadn’t taken long for Adam to fall asleep after that and Will had carried him to bed, leaving him to sleep through the night._

xox

The boy’s eyes were opening and Will smiled. “Hey sleepyhead.”  
  
Adam smiled and sat up, rubbing his eyes. “Will... Will I’m hungry.”  
  
“Alright, give me a minute. I’m waiting on a phone call.” He offered his arms out for a hug. “Once I finish up I’ll go make you something to eat.”  
  
Adam awkwardly shuffled across the room, leaving the puppy in the dog bed asleep, to curl up against Will’s chest, feet tucked underneath him as he relaxed on the couch.  
  
“Is it Jack?”  
  
“Yea... The bad thing happened again.”  
  
“I don’t like it when the bad things happen.”  
  
“I already told you, Adam, the bad thing won’t happen to you.” Will stroked through the mop of light brown hair, smiling softly. “I’d rather die than let you get hurt.”  
  
Adam smiled, eyes closing as Will stroked through his hair.  
  
A soft sigh escaped Will’s lips. Adam had Aspergers, and he needed more care than Will thought he would have. Of course, he didn’t care at all – Adam was his little brother and Will would struggle through whatever he needed to to keep his little brother safe – but it was challenging all the same.  
Of course, it made sense. Both were on the spectrum, both had the same Mother...  
  
“Mac n cheese?”  
  
“Please.”  
  
Adam was peering up at Will again and the elder smiled, kissing his forehead.  
  
“The bad thing could happen to you.”  
  
“If it does, I’ll haunt you. You’ll never be rid of me!”  
  
Will knew it was the wrong thing to say the moment the words left his lips, and he watched his little brother’s eyes widen in fright and panic.  
  
“I’m not going to go. The bad thing won’t happen to me.” The words almost tripped over themselves in his rush to fix things. “I swear, Adam.”  
  
The other nodded and closed his eyes tightly, burying his face in Will’s chest, inhaling the warmth of his sweater. The scent of dogs and fish, mixed with Will’s aftershave and the irony tang of blood was already home to Adam, and the 22 year old wouldn’t be anywhere else.  
  
But fear gripped the younger brother.  
  
Fear like nothing else.  
  
_Losing Will._  
  
The mere thought had been enough to send him into a panic and he felt so bad as Will watched on, helpless as he sat a little way away, unable to help – not knowing why his baby brother was so hurt.  
  
Adam had already lost his Father – rather, he had gotten sick, really sick Mom had said, and he needed to stay in the hospital, and Adam didn’t like hospitals.  
  
The tight grip of sickly terror held him every time Will said he was leaving for the hospital, and the first time Will had hurriedly mentioned he was going to the hospital morgue, Adam had screamed himself into an almost comatose state, he was so exhausted. He’d woken up to Will’s extremely worried face, a damp cloth being dabbed across his forehead.  
  
_“You were going to the m-morgue.”  
  
Will gently wiped the tears away, and kissed his forehead, holding him tightly as their foreheads gently bumped together.  
  
“I will never go to the morgue in the way you thought, Adam. Never, never. I had to go for work, it’s what I do. I promise, I won’t mention the morgue anymore.”_  
  
Will had kept his promise, and had made sure never to mention the hospital or the morgue when he left the house.  
  
Adam normally sat on the porch, watching for Will’s car, and greeting his brother with a tight hug whenever he got home. Will always forced himself to take the hug, to tighten his arms around his brother’s back, to hold him for those four seconds and assure Adam he was okay. Even if his own autism was playing up and he wanted to flinch away from the touch, even if he wanted to scream and rip his hair out, rocking as he kicked at the hands that gripped in his sweater.  
  
He took every single second and made sure Adam wasn’t scared.  
  
Of course, Adam had never seen Will in an autistic breakdown – he’d seen Will in regression, when Will retreated into himself and just stared off into the distance. When Will would look at someone when they spoke to him but not take any words in. When Will would look himself, but be someone completely different.  
  
It had scared Adam the first few times, but Will had sat him down, had explained everything to him, assured him that Adam never did anything wrong – it was just how Will’s brain was wired.  
  
Not like Adam had done when he arrived.  
  
_“Adam just eat the pizza would you? I have work to do, I can’t babysit you.”  
  
Adam had merely shaken his head.  
  
“Eat the damn food, it’s all you’re getting tonight.”  
  
Will had moved away from the couch to stand at the kitchen counter, leaning his elbows on the stone as his eyes took in the blood, the gashes, the wounds, the display, the – Adam was peering at the pictures with wide-eyes, fear in his eyes.  
  
“Adam, eat the pizza.”  
  
“I want macaroni cheese.”  
  
The whining tone of Adam’s voice caused Will to flinch and he growled, reaching his breaking point.  
  
“Seriously just eat the damn pizza!”  
  
The sound of a smashing plate made Will jump and he stared at Adam, immediately covering his ears as Will’s voice rose. He screamed a little, and stepped back, falling down as he hit the wall.  
  
Will had panicked and immediately run over, gently taking the hands away.  
  
“Adam... Adam hey, I’m sorry.”  
  
His tone was much more hushed and Adam had broken down, slowly clinging to Will.  
  
_ Adam had never had to tell anyone he was Aspergic, and Will had understood when he explained. He gently rocked them, holding Adam against his chest before they both fell asleep in an awkward jumble in the corner.  
  
The dogs surrounded them throughout the night and Will couldn’t help but smile fondly at the memory.  
  
“Tell you what, go read for a bit. I’ll cook you some salmon up and add it to the macaroni cheese, hm?”  
  
Adam nodded and yawned, disappearing from the room to his room – an extension Will had built himself; sleeping on the couch and insisting Adam take Will’s own bed – and Will stood up as his phone rang, disappearing to the kitchen.  
  
The arrival of his younger brother had been unexpected.  
An annoyance in his daily routine, a confusion for his dogs.  
  
But it was a welcome arrival, and Will wouldn’t have Adam anywhere else but _home_.


	2. Chapter 2

The sound of thunder caused Will to groan, half waking up as the sound echoed through his home. A dog jumped onto the bed and Will’s hand reached out, gently stroking through the soft fluff of the pup’s head.  
  
“Thunder scaring you, Raj?”  
  
The new pup had showed up, on his porch that day, limping and whimpering.  
  
_Winston had given a few soft barks, coming to get Will immediately. The pup had whimpered and flinched away from Will when he sat down, but slowly came to the man when he was offered food. Will had managed to take the dog inside, and had checked it over, deciding that the dog was in no immediate danger, a trip to the vets could wait until he took Winston for his shots that weekend._  
  
Will had washed the dog down, and Adam had even helped, splashing water over the fur. What was matted, stained with blood and dirt, and all stuck together, became long fur, golden, not brown, and the dog slowly stopped shaking.  
  
Will had handed the new addition to Adam, his brother staring at the dog as it squirmed in his arms, seeking the warmth of the man’s body.  
  
“Raja...”  
  
The dog whined and nosed Will’s hand, resting on his chest. The empathy gently lifted the blanket, allowing the dog access to bury under, causing Winston to roll over with a huff. Will smiled, rolling over slightly to wrap his hand around Winston’s chest, settling down.  
  
More footsteps padded down the hallway and there was another weight on the bed. A wet nose prodded the foot that was uncovered and Will groaned, sitting up. The lightning flashed through the room, and Will noted it was Rug, his Jack Russell.  
  
Will lay down, about to close his eyes and go to sleep, when he saw a human figure slip into his room. Fear gripped him for a moment, watching the shape disappear into the closet, the shot _thud_ of the door merely putting him even more on edge.  
  
Lightning flashed again, and Will slowly stood up. The dogs hadn’t reacted yet and he glanced at them in the light. Winston had sniffed in the direction of the door and slowly, Will tore it open, turning the light on.  
  
Adam was curled up in a ball on the floor, eyes closed tight. His hands were over his ears and soft whimpers escaped his lips. Will frowned and knelt down. “Adam..?”  
  
The boy’s bright blue eyes opened and he let out a whine. Will immediately moved to wrap his arms around the young man, lifting him bridal style into his arms. Adam clung to Will’s shirt, sniffling. The thunder sounded again and Adam screamed into Will’s chest.  
  
“Alright, alright. Okay, Adam, it’s okay.”  
  
Will set his little brother on the couch, moving to gently wrap the throw around his slim frame. “Just wait for me a moment.”  
  
Adam nodded, crying a little as thunder sounded again.  
  
Will rushed to the kitchen, flicking lights on as he went before boiling the kettle and pouring powdered cocoa into two mugs. He added sugar and milk and watched Adam. The lightning flashed and his shivering seemed to get even worse. Will quickly poured the drinks and brought them over.  
  
Adam’s shaking hands took a mug that was being held out to him, and Will slowly sat down on the couch. Adam moved to hug to Will’s side and the elder kissed his hair.  
  
“The thunder can’t hurt you Adam.”  
  
“It’s scary...”  
  
“Why is it scary?”  
  
“It’s so loud and it hurts my ears.”  
  
Will nodded, shifting to tug Adam into his lap.  
  
“When I was younger, a lot younger, about 7 or 8, I didn’t like thunder. It would scare me so much, I would cry. Sometimes, I’d end up banging my head on the wall just to try and make it stop. My Dad would pick me up and take me outside. He’d make me dance around in the rain for a little while and his arms would always make me feel safe. When it got too cold, he’d bring me inside, set us on the couch, make cocoa, and,” Will turned the television on, holding Adam close. “Turn the television on, put on an old black and white movie and we’d fall asleep.”  
  
Will flicked through the channels, eventually setting on some old comedy. Adam sniffed a little as he rested his head on Will’s shoulder, sipping his cocoa. “Does it really work?”  
  
“Well, I’m not scared of thunder anymore. Something had to have been done right.” Will smiled, kissing Adam’s temple. “And if you’re still scared a little later on, then we can go cuddle in bed, and I’ll blare some classical music, and I will personally hold you tightly until you are asleep.”  
  
“But then you won’t sleep.”  
  
“As long as you get some sleep tonight, that’s all I care about, Adam.”  
  
The younger frowned, pouting a little. “But that’s not fair!”  
  
“Life isn’t fair. You need your sleep.”  
  
Conversation fell between them and Will let his eyes closed, holding Adam close. A whimper escaped Adam as a dog jumped onto the couch and Will peered over.  
  
“That’s Bakla. He’s just a cutie, all he wants it attention. He won’t hurt you.”  
  
Adam shaking reached out to stroke the dog with a smile, relaxing again as the dog rested his head in Adam’s lap. A tongue slipped out and licked the hand running through his fur, sending Adam into a fit of giggles. Will smiled, leaning forward to set his cup down on the coffee table.  
  
“I like him.”  
  
“I think he likes you too, Adam.”  
  
The younger smiled up at Will, which in turn caused the elder to smile back, leaning in for another tight hug. Both stayed there for a while before Will felt Adam yawning. They settled back against the couch. Will turned the television off and rearranged the blanket so it covered both of them before he let his eyes close.  
  
Within moments, Adam was asleep and Will felt himself drift off once more.


End file.
